Denis Boucher's Column

Dr. Denis Boucher explains his role with the Quebec League's Victoriaville Tigres this season as they try and bounce back from an early playoff exit. If you’re physically fit, you can call yourself an athlete, but being a good hockey player takes a lot more. Furthermore, building a great team is a mission that requires more than we can imagine.

Having the most power isn't always the best thing for your game in the long run - you have to be able to keep it up. As intensity rises during the playoffs, players with the highest fitness levels will have the best performance and recovery process. The higher their fitness levels, the better their chances of exhausting the opponent and winning.

Dr. Denis Boucher writes why he thinks mental toughness isn't real and why you shouldn't ignore stress and emotion. We often hear the term “mental toughness.” This expression has a certain “ring” to it, but when it is used in contrast to other concepts in sport psychology, such as stress, thought and emotion management, the notion of “weakness” is somehow introduced.

Dr. Denis Boucher explains his methods used to help in finding optimal training techniques with the Flyers. Over the past few months, my associate François Ruel and I have been working on the development of a new on-ice testing protocol for hockey players, using biosensors and accelerometers (you can read a little bit more about the subject in my article: The Development of On-Ice Testing, published here on thn.

Getting the head healthy after a brain injury is obvious, but we can't forget to ensure the rest of the body has recovered as well. I think most of us are well-aware of the short-term impairments and long-term damage that result from concussions. However, science still has much to learn on this subject.

Dr. Denis Boucher returns with pointers on how always training at a high intensity level can actually hurt your results. The goal of training is to increase your fitness level enough to respond to an effort on the ice with the lowest possible energy expenditure.

Dr. Denis Boucher explains how crunch time can take you off your game unless you are able to separate yourself from the situation. Time is running out fast. If your team doesn’t win the game, you’re done, eliminated. The skills you have mastered, such as passing the puck, shooting at the net, being in the right position at the right time, anticipating the opponent - all those “little things” you normally do with ease are suddenly much more difficult to do.

A team that works together succeeds together, but each individual has his own idea of how to accomplish that goal. Team cohesion: What does it really mean? Where does it come from? How do we build it? How do we keep it over time in an ever-changing environment?
I should perhaps address the basic question: What is a team? A team is a group of individuals (players) working together to reach a common goal.

Dr. Denis Boucher explains how you can train your brain to react to certain situations and improve your on-ice game. As an athlete, you spend many hours a week training to improve your fitness level and, hopefully, your performance. Even if you’re one of the fittest athletes in your field, you may find you’re no match for the athlete next to you if you don’t have a capacity that is very under-recognized, but highly valuable: attention.

Dr. Denis Boucher, Ph.D., explains how the effectiveness of supplements can be overblown and even hinder results if not used properly. In sports, performance matters. As athletes and coaches hear about new supplements that can provide a competitive edge, they are easily tempted to try them.

Dr Denis Boucher, Ph.D., explains how simply training won't guarantee you'll reach optimum speed and that brain activity plays a large role. In most sports, speed is the gold standard of performance. Speed gives you the edge. However, to get faster, athletes mainly train their muscle mass, as if being fast is only a matter of muscle power.

Dr Denis Boucher, Ph.D., discusses the importance of on-ice testing and how it can help athletes train for specific improvements. Imagine a laboratory built into a chest band that would allow us scientists to capture a huge amount of data while hockey players are skating.